Question: This species has a peculiar breeding behaviour that I've not seen an explanation for ... can you name the bird and its strange behaviour (and propose a scientific explanation for it)?

Response: This is a male olive-backed Sunbird, Cinnyris jugularis. I think it looks like a young bird that has not quite attained its full adult plumage, but I could be wrong about this, especially considering the camera angle and the angle of the sun, neither of which are particularly optimal.

The peculiar breeding behaviour I was asking about was how these birds will abandon their completed nest for about a week before the female returns to lay her clutch of one or two greenish-blue eggs. I have no idea why these birds would abandon their nest for a week or so, but palfreyman suggested this might fool a cuckoo waiting to parasitise the nest, and shundarnagin suggested that this might fool snakes or other predators. These suggestions make sense to me, but I don't know if anyone has done any research to find out more.